Even with plenty of time to digest the news — and to make sure the stunning Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade had actually occurred and wasn’t the result of someone hacking a popular reporter’s account — Mavericks players still had a hard time coming to terms with the reality of the blockbuster trade.
“Stunned is a good word,” Lesley McCaslin of Bally Sports Southwest reported Sunday. “I think it’s safe to say there’s still a little bit of shock in the locker room. One of the players told me it just doesn’t feel real. P.J. Washington said, ‘Look, we love Luca. When you come to battle with a guy, he’s your teammate and brother and obviously we wish him the best,’ but they understand that it’s also a business and they had a team meeting this morning where they could discuss everything.
“Naji Marshall said, ‘Of course, everything was business as usual.’ He said, ‘We love Luca. But we are all professionals and they are looking forward to getting to meet (Davis) and Max Christie and look forward to winning games.”
Hopefully, the meeting and greeting of the new teammates goes better than the attempt to win games, with the Mavericks opening the post-Doncic era with a blowout 144-101 loss on Sunday night to Cleveland.
Dallas allowed 50 points in its first 12 minutes since it opted to move on from Doncic in exchange for Davis, Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The team also trailed by 45 points at halftime.
Dallas, however, did not have Kyrie Irving, Washington, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II or Dwight Powell for the matchup against the Eastern Conference’s top team.
That being said, it’s understandable that the Mavericks would provide an uninspiring effort after the front office made one of the most shocking trades in NBA history.
Dallas traded one of the NBA’s best scorers for a 31-year-old who is injury-prone and just one first-round pick at a time when lesser players like the Knicks’ Mikal Bridges can fetch five first-rounders.
Making it all the more shocking is how Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison noted how he only talked to the Lakers, instead of searching league-wide for the best available deal.
Even the Mavericks’ play-by-play television announcer, Mark Followill, acknowledged how this trade stunned him prior to Sunday’s game.
“I’m sorry if I look a little haggard today,” Followill said. “Like a lot of you, I didn’t sleep very well last night. We’re stunned, we’re shocked, we’re going through it. You all know what I’m talking about. The end of one era, the beginning of another. The news came down last night in reports, officially this morning at 10:05 Eastern, 9:05 Central Time. Luka Doncic traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick in the future.”
He also tweeted: “But I’m as stunned and shocked as everyone else and I’m very empathetic to all of the emotions people are feeling right now. I appreciate everyone who has reached out and an MFFL hug to all of you.”
The Mavericks are back in action Tuesday in Philadelphia against the 76ers and Harrison said Sunday’s he’s unsure when their new start will suit up for the first time.
Dallas (26-24) is tied for eighth in the Western Conference and just one game clear of being on the outside looking in and will need Davis to carry the team the way Doncic had for seven seasons.
“I understand why [everyone] would be shocked, initially, but I do believe that we positioned ourselves to win now and also win in the future,” Harrison said prior to Sunday’s loss. “And that’s ultimately the goal and why we’re here. It’s one of those things where it’s my job to make the tough decisions that put our goals first and foremost.
“So I understand the magnitude of it, but the easiest thing for me to do is do nothing and everyone would praise me for doing nothing. But we really believe in it and time will tell if I’m right.”
